


it's all an adventure that comes with a breathtaking view

by WishingTree



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, just a day in the life!, the others pop up briefly, warning for a small kitchen fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 04:37:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13473846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishingTree/pseuds/WishingTree
Summary: Karolina was supposed to have a nice peaceful day of rest and relaxation, given that everybody had gone into town for the day and left her and Nico alone.She had a plan for them after she finished making dinner, but unfortunately, it all goes up in flames.





	it's all an adventure that comes with a breathtaking view

**Author's Note:**

> Title from 'Tightrope' from The Greatest Showman;

Being on the run is nice, in a slightly terrible kind of way, probably since they haven’t actually been running long enough for it to get truly awful yet. They’re away from their parents and Jonah and all the pressures of their old lives, and Karolina finds it surprisingly freeing.

She’s trying to stay on the positive side of things.

Now they’re all essentially trapped in close proximity to each other, and that would get annoying fast, except Nico is here with her. Karolina figures that that fact may be influencing her outlook a little bit, but she also doesn’t particularly care. Nico is here, with her soft eyes and gentle hands and terrible jokes and caustic wit and _heart_ , Nico who she’s liked since before she’d understood what it meant, when she’d been much too young to understand. Nico is _here_ with her, and she actually likes her back, and Karolina can daydream about her all she wants, doesn’t have to hide the happy little smile that comes to her face whenever she thinks of her.

“–lina?! Karolina!” 

Nico’s urgent voice snaps her out of it, and she blinks herself back to awareness, glancing around and taking in her surroundings.

She’s standing in an old sweatshirt and cutoffs in the kitchen, and Nico is in the doorway looking effortlessly fabulous, as usual. They’re in of one of the Steins’ multiple unused vacation homes tucked away in the hills, where they’ve been hiding for the last two days on Chase’s assurance that it will take weeks for anyone to think to check here, and it almost feels like it could be a vacation.

It’s a nice kitchen, full of shiny state-of-the-art appliances, but also decorated in a way that gives a homey feel to it. There’s a spice rack, a hanging row for pots, all kinds of holders and colourful utensils, and plenty of counter space. It’s a very nice kitchen. 

And it’s also on fire.

Karolina yelps and jumps away from the flaming stove, eyes wide as she takes in the results of her distraction. The fire is already spreading across the counter, lighting up the hand towels and crawling over to the cabinets, and Karolina feels her panic rise.

“How did you even do that! Weren’t you paying attention?” Nico yells as she scrambles around, presumably looking for a fire extinguisher. Karolina copies her, yanking open various cupboards and sticking her head inside while doing her best to ignore her watering eyes.

Nico finds it first, yelling triumphantly and pulling it out, and she only fumbles for a second as she gets a handle on the canister before promptly dousing the flames. She keeps it up until the fire is fully extinguished, leaving a singed stove and countertop, and then she throws it aside. Breathing heavily, she scrubs at her eyes and blinks before waving at Karolina. “Come on.” 

They throw open the windows and stumble outside, coughing into their arms, and Karolina hurriedly looks Nico over as soon as they’re a few feet away from the house, patting her down.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Nico shoves her away, shaking her head, but then does the exact same thing to Karolina, causing her to release a laugh that’s only slightly hysterical.

Now standing in front of her, Nico has one hand wrapped loosely around her wrist, and Karolina can’t stop herself from staring. She’s got some dirt smudged on her cheek and some white foam clinging to her sleeve from the fire extinguisher, and she’s beautiful.

“I’m sorry,” Karolina breathes, staring at her with wide eyes, “I’m – I didn’t mean to, I’m so sorry…” 

Nico squeezes her wrist reassuringly and reaches out to tweak a lock of hair that’s fallen out of Karolina’s loose ponytail. “It’s cool. Check it out,” she says, lifting her hand and pointing off into the distance, and it’s a struggle for Karolina to turn and see what she’s looking at.

The sun has just began to set over the trees, fiery light bleeding across the sky and painting it in hues of deep red and orange, and it casts a radiant glow over the land in front of them. The light passes over Nico's face, catching in her eyes and tinting her hair, and Karolina feels her own head tilt to the side to see her better.

“You made the kitchen match the sunset,” Nico says wryly, voice quiet and drifting in the breeze as she gives Karolina a surprisingly fond look before returning her eyes to the sky. “Figures that you’d manage to make something ridiculously poetic like that happen.” 

“Pretty though,” Karolina murmurs, trying to keep her eyes on the horizon and failing spectacularly. She hopes Nico doesn’t notice the way her eyes are sliding over her instead.

They stand there together, and Karolina carefully slides her wrist out of Nico’s grip so she can lace their fingers together, hesitant in a way that she only ever gets around her. Nico accepts the touch, and Karolina takes a deep breath as a smile spreads across her lips, lifting her face towards the sky and feeling the breeze flit through her hair. 

The crunch of gravel is their first indication that the others are returning from their trip into town, and the van comes into view up the winding driveway. It pulls to the stop, the engine shutting off before the others all pile out of it, and Karolina doesn’t let go of Nico’s hand.

“That is…” Alex gapes as he gets closer, and the others come up behind him.

“There was a fire,” Nico supplies helpfully, and Karolina glances over her shoulder again, just now remembering the situation she’s maybe sort of accidentally caused.

“Okay then,” Alex says, his eyes flicking between them and the house as he pushes up his glasses, “And here I thought there was nothing to worry about because you two were the responsible ones.” 

“Did you… burn down the house while we were gone?” Gert asks slowly, voice aghast as she stares at the smoke still rising from the open window.

“Right,” Karolina lifts one shoulder in a sheepish shrug, “That… that was my bad.” 

“I thought Chase would be the first one to set something on fire,” Molly says, scratching under Old Lace’s chin and completely unconcerned. 

Chase pulls a face. “Why would I set something on fire?” 

Molly shrugs, but then Gert blinks and rounds on her with a dismayed twist to her lips. “What do you mean the _first_  to set something on fire?” 

Karolina laughs and throws her arm around Nico’s shoulders, pulling her close and resting her cheek against her hair. Nico shivers, the movement so light that Karolina would have missed it had she been anyone else, and she immediately starts to pull back, worried she’s overstepped her bounds. However, before she can get far, Nico latches onto her wrist and pulls her arm back into place, her other arm darting out to wrap around Karolina’s waist. She doesn’t say anything, but when she leans her head against Karolina’s shoulder, Karolina smiles.

They stand there and take in the sunset, a feeling of quiet contentment settling over them despite the recently extinguished fire and the loud bickering happening six feet away, along with their situation as a whole, and Karolina can’t find it in herself to be anything other than happy.


End file.
